After this match it will be goodbye, for the foreseeable future anyway, to Manchester as a Test venue, which strictly from a parochial viewpoint is a pity. Of late England have tended to do rather well here, and it would be a pretty pass if a side cannot make use of home advantage.

Since they lost to Pakistan in 2001, a disturbing last-session batting collapse costing them a match they might very well have won in record-breaking fashion, things have perked up. First Sri Lanka were beaten by 10 wickets, followed by West Indies by seven wickets, Pakistan by an innings and 120 runs and finally West Indies once more, this time by 60 runs.

They were also within a whisker of a fifth win as the 2005 Australians were, for the final four overs of the Test, within one wicket of defeat.

Now, following the weather-influenced stalemate at Lord's, England will be anticipating adding to that record of success. In the first Test New Zealand proved themselves to be, as ever, a resourceful team, excellently led by Daniel Vettori, with a bowling attack to be underestimated by no one, and batting that has depth if not high quality.

Rescued on the final day by Jacob Oram's thumping hundred and obduracy from the debutant Daniel Flynn, they had more cause to be pleased with themselves than did England, who were unable to seize the match with the ball on the first day, when it performed party tricks, and produced a stodgy performance with the bat. Accusations at Michael Vaughan that his century was more about him than the team are unkind, however, as he pulled them out of the mire, but the team missed important chances and were not sufficiently resourceful to bowl New Zealand out second time around.

Yet for all that England, largely on the basis of that record at Old Trafford, go into today's match as favourites. While in no way discounting the attack that New Zealand will field - Tim Southee is a victim of gastric trouble and uncertain to play - England have a surface which is likely to assist them more than it will the tourists. It bounces like Monty Panesar appealing for lbw and has the pace to go with it - so tall fast bowlers can prosper. However the bounce can also assist spinners, finger spinners even, whether or not there is turn. To this end Steve Harmison, with 17 wickets, and Panesar, bowling in tandem for much of the time, have taken 35 of 40 wickets in the last two Tests.

In the first of those games, against Pakistan, Harmison was devastating despite bowling only moderately well, with the steepling lift he gained proving too much even for experienced batsmen.

In the continuing absence of Andrew Flintoff, who until he sustained a side strain had been scaring batsmen half to death on the same square, there might have been a temptation to recall Harmison strictly as a horse for this course. Instead they called up Chris Tremlett, similar to Harmison but not as sinister, although he will play only if any of the three seamers who played at Lord's keels over in the night.

A number of the batsmen have enjoyed good times at Old Trafford as well. Alastair Cook has yet to play a Test here without scoring a century while Vaughan himself, delighting in the freedom off front and back foot, has two hundreds while Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell have one apiece, with the latter also making 97 last year. Only Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood need to pull their fingers out.

Quite what can be done to make the top six gel, something they have failed to do for a while now, will have been taxing Peter Moores for a while. There are three options of course: shuffle the pack, change the cards or leave things alone and hope it comes right.

The first of these was carried out in part at Lord's with significant success, Vaughan dropping back to three and making his hundred while Strauss and Cook were able to register their first century opening stand together. The Middlesex man in particular looked in good order, lining the ball up better and hitting down the ground, in defence and attack and into what once were no-go areas.

There is scope to tinker, however. The former coach Duncan Fletcher, for example, is an advocate of Pietersen batting at five with Bell at four, although that would seem a waste of the most destructive batsmen, given the tardy rate of scoring shown by the rest.

Lord's taught England a lesson. If, as Moores asserts, they have reached the stage where they can play the sort of cricket they would like to, rather than that which circumstance forces, then it would be nice if they opted for something a little more adventurous. Plodding along will only play into Kiwi hands.